The Center for Popular Music is an archive and research center devoted to the study of American popular music from the pre-revolutionary era to the present.  It was established in 1985 as one of the sixteen Centers of Excellence at universities in the Tennessee Board of Regents system. 

The Center's mission is to promote research and scholarship in American vernacular music, and to foster an understanding and appreciation of American's diverse musical culture.  To carry out this mission, the Center: 

  maintains a large research library and archive; 
  presents public programs that interpret various aspects of American vernacular music; 
  engages in original research projects; 
  disseminates the results of research via publications in various media. 

More information about the history and development of the Center can be found in an extensive article about the Center that appeared in the June, 1998 issue of Notes: The Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association.